


The Next Babe Ruth

by Azillawn



Category: The Outsiders (1983), The Outsiders - S. E. Hinton
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Kinda, M/M, No Plot/Plotless, but hey they're gay and playing baseball, i guess, there's no point this is just sweet, this takes place before everything went downhill dsjhgv
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-17
Updated: 2018-02-17
Packaged: 2019-03-20 05:14:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13710594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azillawn/pseuds/Azillawn
Summary: He had thought teaching Johnny Cade to play baseball was a good idea. He really, truly did.





	The Next Babe Ruth

_Drip. Drip._

Droplets of rain began to slowly fall from the dark gray skies above a run-down town, the slightest bit of force creating tiny splashes against the dying grass and the rough ground of a sidewalk or a road. Due to the weather and the immense lack of a living presence, the town appeared alike one of a ghost. The occasional shouts of children hurrying inside at the sound of thunder and the engines of cars reverberated throughout the area, yet the noises quickly faded, as though they were never present. No occupants of the East side of town could be spotted. They fled at the first droplet of water, perhaps due to the immense fear of the liquid ruining the humongous amounts of grease within one’s hair. Without so much as a single sound after a few simple seconds, the town held an eerie aura to it.

This only caused Dallas Winston to flinch more, for he had expected a loud crack of wood against rubber and yarn to sound throughout the tiny field. Yet it never came. With immense hesitation, Dallas picked up his head and allowed his shoulders to slump, much to his companions dismay. Dark brown eyes scanned the younger up and down, taking in the sight of a dripping, disappointed boy. A scratched up baseball bat hung loosely between the younger teen’s fingers. Dallas wrinkled his nose at this whilst temporarily furrowing his brown brows.

He had thought teaching Johnny Cade to play baseball was a good idea. He really, truly did.

“Why don’t’cha try using your other hand to hold the bat, Johnny?” The older would call out, his deep and rough voice only barely audible over the droplets of rain that began to increase.

“I _can’t_ use my other hand, Dallas. ’M right handed! It’s just awkward any other way!” Johnny retorted.

The brunette haired teen scoffed softly at the younger’s response. With reluctance evident in his gestures, Dallas reached an arm out and gestured for the baseball to be thrown back. Johnny blinked at these movements, his brown gaze glued to the older’s fingers as though there were ten instead of five. Johnny quickly bent down afterwards and picked up the baseball. He immediately threw it underhand towards the older at a distance, his hand nearly hitting him in the face due to the unnecessary force in the throw. A chuckle from Dallas sounded through the rain, and Johnny’s attention only flickered upwards in time to see Dallas’s hands wrap around the white and red ball. Johnny frowned at this, an overwhelming amount of greed rising up his chest and into his throat. He wanted Dallas’s skill - and it was evident he wouldn’t _exactly_ be receiving such.

“You ain’t a very fast learner, are ‘ya, Johnnycake?” Dallas mused to the younger. The slightest bit of a smirk graced his face at this, which only caused the envy to continue rising in Johnny, to the point where it could almost be noticable. Johnny slipped his tongue passed his chapped lips and stuck it into the direction of Dallas, causing a few splashes of rain to fall onto it. The childish reaction only amused Winston further.

“‘M...perfectly _fine_ at learnin’. You’re just bad’t teachin’,” Johnny replied, the words earning a low snort from the older who stood before him. However, his brown gaze wasn’t lying on Johnny, yet instead on the muddy baseball in which could easily slip out of the palm of his hand.

It was silent afterwards.

Dallas remained still, much to Johnny’s confusion. The smirk that had quickly made way to the older teen’s face faded within the blink of Johnny’s eye gently against the wisps of black hair that fell in front of his face. The brunette appeared almost focused on the rolling of the baseball, as though he had completely forgotten about the presence of Johnny or that they were standing in the middle of rain and claps of thunder above them. The corners of Johnny’s mouth twitched downwards whilst he slowly cocked his head to the right. A few more greased pieces of hair fell gracefully in front of his wet, tan face, his eyelashes brushing against the hair as he blinked for seconds at a time. “Dallas,” the younger began, his attention flickering away momentarily to look around the wet field, “don’t’cha think we should head inside somewhere? The rain’s ‘nly gettin’ worse…”

“Nah. Just a couple more,” Dallas proposed, his words only earning a loud groan of annoyance and impatience.

“We’ve been out for ‘bout an hour now! M-My arms and legs hurt, and I can’t see much with the rain now-”

“You’ll be fine, Johnnycake. Rain won’t kill ‘ya. ‘Sides, I got an idea,” Winston practically purred. The baseball nearly rolled out of his hand at the low sound, yet his other hand was quick to catch it before it could hit the ground beneath them.

Johnny furrowed his brows and scrunched up his nose at the sound in which rumbled in Dallas’s throat, although it failed to be the only thing in which confused him further. The younger hesitantly tightened his grip around the handle of the baseball bat. “An idea? What’s your idea? I-I mean, I hope it’s got somethin’ to do with headin’ inside. We can always crash’t your room’t Buck’s or Tim’s ? The Curtis house?”

“No, Cade. We ain’t goin’ inside until you hit the ball,” Dallas said. Johnny frowned at this, yet irritation was evident behind the look of sadness that had made way to his tan face. The brunette whom stood further off chuckled once more as he purposely rolled the ball in his hand, the mud sliding against his cold skin and creating tracks. “You prob’ly need a bit of motivation too, yeah? Seein’ as how much you wanna head inside?”

Johnny nodded.

“‘Aight. Fair ‘nough. Wh’never you hit this baseball, you get a kiss,” Dallas stated, the smugness noticeable in his voice due to the increase of volume through the rain, “should be motivation enough for ‘ya, I think.”

The black haired boy formed his mouth into a tiny ‘o’ in surprise whilst his dark brown eyes widened in surprise. Of course, the intimate interaction was a regular occurrence between the both of them, yet for it to be used in such a way against him was rather...new. New, and entirely shocking. Johnny clamped his mouth shut after a few seconds, his teeth immediately finding their way to bite down onto his bottom lip, the force creating a few teeth marks on the dark skin. He questioned how desperate he could possibly be while standing in his strange silence, yet the sudden tumble of nonsense that slipped by his lips was enough to answer. He watched Dallas smirk once more at whatever may have been said during his time of absolute confusion and confliction. With reluctance, Johnny turned his frail body a little to the side, his hands wrapped tightly around the handle of the baseball hat. Cold water from above them dripped down the bat and in between his fingers, occasional droplets as well falling in his warm face from sliding down his greasy hair.

“..’Ll be the next Babe Ruth!” Johnny yelled out over the pounding of the rain against the ground. Dallas would laugh in response to the exaggerated shout, and as well quickly turned into the same direction as the younger, his own fingers tightly clasped around the muddy baseball in his grasp.

“Batter batter swing, Johnny.”

 

* * *

 

Johnny Cade would never be the next Babe Ruth - ever - yet the amount of kisses he had gotten from Dallas Winston was the biggest accomplishment of the entirety of his short life. Of course, the statement was quite the over exaggeration, yet as he and Dallas walked to Buck Merrill’s place, with soaking wet appearances and red cheeks, Johnny realized that his lips were rather bruised from the amount of kisses given to him in moments of pure excitement and adoration from the older teen.

Even on their way, Dallas continued impersonating as the crowd in the darkness, whom practically screamed over Johnny’s accomplishments of hitting the baseball seven times for Dallas.

Johnny’s chest swelled with pride.

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this in a day leave me alone you COWARDS
> 
> djshjb jk i love you all aa <3


End file.
